“CBS Saturday Morning” will broadcast its last show with co-hosts Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson this weekend — and no replacements have been revealed to staffers, stoking anxiety as they await yet another round of job cuts, The Post has learned.
As first reported by The Post, Miller, Jacobson and executive producer Brian Applegate were ousted from the 28-year-old show as part of a first round of brutal layoffs last month under CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss and network president Tom Cibroswki.
Since the news broke, top brass has been tight-lipped on who would replace the hosts, when they would be leaving or what the vision for the show will be — an information vacuum that has left employees on edge, sources said.
“CBS Saturday Morning” co-hosts Dana Jacobson and Michellle Miller are set to broadcast their last show on Saturday. Michele Crowe/CBS News
CBS Saturday Morning co-hosts Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller. Michele Crowe/CBS News
The confusion is “par for the course,” according to a CBS insider. “This is a network that has no plans,” the person said sarcastically.
A source close the situation said there is a plan for the show, but it will be revealed at a later date.
CBS News declined to comment.
A source said the show’s hosts will be leaving this Saturday and that Adriana Diaz, who co-hosted the now-canceled “CBS Mornings Plus,” will fill in Nov 29. Sources said Diaz had been approached to anchor the show full-time but doesn’t appear to be interested.
As of now, the show, which airs nationwide on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, will likely be helmed by a carousel of fill-ins.
CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz is set to fill in for the duo on Nov. 29. Michele Crowe/CBS News
While “CBS Saturday Mornings” doesn’t have a particularly deep bench, names that have been traded by insiders include Diaz, Elaine Quijano, Errol Barnett, Kelly O’Grady and Jericka Duncan.
The uncertainty looms as Weiss and Cibrowski prepare for a second round of steep cuts that are expected to impact talent — some of which will likely leave under the guise of retirement — and high-level managers in addition to the rank-and-file.
CBS This Morning: Saturday co-hosts Jeff Glor, Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller. CBS via Getty Images
The network’s first round of cuts claimed roughly 100 jobs, as parent company Paramount Skydance laid off roughly 1,000 people last month.
Aside from Miller, Jacobson and Applegate, other boldface names that are leaving the company include “CBS Evening News” anchor John Dickerson, correspondents Janet Shamlian, Nancy Chen and Nikki Battiste, contributor Lisa Ling and foreign correspondent Debora Patta.
Sources at CBS News said top brass has been tight-lipped on plans for the weekend morning show since news broke that the co-hosts and the executive producer had been ousted. AP
Patta, who had signed a new contract months earlier, is looking into taking legal action against the network, The Post first reported.
Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said on the company’s earnings call earlier this month that it will cut another 1,600 jobs as part of a strategic review. It is unclear when those cuts will hit and how many jobs will be slashed at CBS News.